Chopsticks can be harmful?

[CFLarsen]

No, I'm not talking about the odd chopstick-fight, which has been known to happen in my family.

BBC: Why chopsticks can be harmful (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/3213241.stm)

Research carried out in Beijing suggests that the repetitive movement of pinching the chopsticks together to pick up food can cause joint problems in the fingers and hand.

More than 2,500 Beijing residents aged 60, who ate using chopsticks, were assessed for signs of bone damage in their hands by the Boston University School of Medicine.
....
They concluded that further study was needed - but noted that the effect was unlikely to deter people from continuing a practice which goes back thousands of years.

Wait a second....if Japanese youngsters can develop stronger thumbs in just a few years from sending messages via their cell phones, how come we haven't seen a similar evolutionary trait in the millions of Chinese...??

Very peculiar....very peculiar...somebody channel Stephen Jay Gould for an explanation, please... :)

[WildCat]

I don't care if it's a valid study or not. Please, please ban the damn things so I don't have to be embarassed by having to ask for a fork in asian restaurants any longer! :wink:

[CFLarsen]

Originally posted by WildCat
I don't care if it's a valid study or not. Please, please ban the damn things so I don't have to be embarassed by having to ask for a fork in asian restaurants any longer! :wink:

At times, I was asked at the Chinese restaurants if I would prefer a fork instead (me being a gwailo, often the only one in the whole place). I just answered by putting down a toothpick on the table, gripping the chops and picking up the toothpick with them.

No further questions from the waiters. :)

[Tony]

Werent you taught how to use chopsticks in school WildCat?

[arcticpenguin]

Originally posted by CFLarsen
No, I'm not talking about the odd chopstick-fight, which has been known to happen in my family.

BBC: Why chopsticks can be harmful (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/3213241.stm)

Wait a second....if Japanese youngsters can develop stronger thumbs in just a few years from sending messages via their cell phones, how come we haven't seen a similar evolutionary trait in the millions of Chinese...??

Very peculiar....very peculiar...somebody channel Stephen Jay Gould for an explanation, please... :)
I read the entire BBC article. Could you point out the part where they said they found that it actually was harmful? The closest I could find to a revelation of results was:

They concluded that further study was needed
which translates into: please renew our grant.

All the talk about how it could be harmful is BS until & unless they can show that it is harmful.

[tamiO]

Maybe skepchicks with chopsticks are dangerous?

Or just inspiration for a tongue twister....

[CFLarsen]

I didn't say the article actually said it was harmful, but:

Research carried out in Beijing suggests that the repetitive movement of pinching the chopsticks together to pick up food can cause joint problems in the fingers and hand.
(Emphasis mine)

[Chaos]

Originally posted by tamiO
Maybe skepchicks with chopsticks are dangerous?

Or just inspiration for a tongue twister....

Here it goes:

Skepchicks with chopsticks chop skepdudes with tonguetwists to matchsticks.


Can you say that ten times in a row?

[T'ai Chi]

One could probably do a similar study showing that forks (or anything) is harmful in some way.

Personally, I use 'kuaizi' for eating out of a bowl, and forks for eating off a plate, and spoons for soup. :)

[evildave]

Well, you could get a splinter or something.

And sometimes when you initially break a cheap pair apart, bits of wood can go flying. You could put an eye out or something.

Really though, they're the best tools for eating noodles, and if the rice is cooked right, it comes up in clumps.

Besides, if you'd listen to those "starving kids in China" stories you always heard as a kid, you'd know that obviously they don't have enough food available there to get a repetitive injury from eating.

[Iamme]

Hi Claus. Did you get a chance to visit a site on chopsticks? I recently heard where someone set a record by eating something with chopsticks. But it probably isn't as spectacul;ar as that Japanese guy who weighed 57 1/2 pounds:D who set the world record for downing 50 hotdogs in 12? minutes.:wink8: (This is what he looked like after he ate them.)

[CFLarsen]

Iamme,

I'm way ahead of you. I commented on Kobayashi on this thread (http://www.randi.org/vbulletin/showthread.php?s=&threadid=28869&highlight=Kobayashi)... ;)

[WildCat]

Originally posted by Tony
Werent you taught how to use chopsticks in school WildCat?
Sure, along w/ handwriting. But my fingers resemble bratwursts, just don't have the touch. :(